Athens, Greece
Freddo Capuccino
Not what I wanted. ☹️
Cafe across the street from the Melissinos Sandal Shop. Don’t go there for coffee.
Okay, so we’re in Greece, which means we have to eat the “real” versions of the Greek food we know: gyros, souvlaki, moussaka. This food is everywhere, so: which one is the best? Internet sleuthing is sadly basic: Google - “best gyros athens” and there you go. We didn’t belabor the issue and decided on Bairaktaris because Andrew Zimmern said so. Yeah, yeah: Andrew Zimmern. 🙄 But, the city is big! And, we were hungry.
The thing about eating in a tourist trap is that - at any given moment, you are being hustled by 2 or 3 “front of house” guys. One promised that “our dreams would come true” at his restaurant. But, we had picked our place out and just took a seat. The menus all have pictures - 🙂, but the pictures look nothing like the real thing - 😑. But, we had a fine meal of “Greek Salad” (See note below), stuffed grape leaves, kebap, and tzatziki.
During lunch, we struck up a conversation with the couple sitting next to us after taking a photo for them. They were from North Carolina and Florida, retired, and traveling around Greece and Turkey. Karen and Jim, as it turns out, were high school sweethearts and reunited after both their spouses passed away. Their happiness was utterly infectious. Jim lived in Charlotte and we learned that he used to live across the street from Dell Curry, when Curry was playing for the Hornets. Jim used to watch Dell and Stephen practice shooting in their driveway from his kitchen window. Folks, this is our third-degree of separation from Stephen Curry. 😱🏀💙💛
After lunch, Yennie was on a mission to get Greek sandals from “The Poet Sandal-Maker of Athens.” This is a three-generation atelier of leather sandals that has outfitted the Beatles, Jackie O, Sophia Loren, SJP, and most recently, Jill Biden, “Wife of Joe Biden.” The experience was aggravatingly slow. You ask for a style of sandal off a shoe menu (i.e. pictures) and then try them on. Once you decide which ones you like, they measure and cut the straps of the sandals to your foot. But, it took Yennie about an hour from start to finish - no other reason that the salesmen were (cough) bad at their jobs. But, the quality and price are undeniable.
It was hot, so we went to the Acropolis Museum, home of the precious remaning artifacts and sculptures of the Parthenon. We were glad to have visited the museum before the Acropolis because we learned that this is where the good sh*t is. The museum houses the remaining pieces of frieze, pediment, and metopes that used to adorn the Parthenon. And, they do a really good job of presenting it the form and layout of the Parthenon. We learned a lot about the ancient use and prominence of the Acropolis and the Parthenon.
But, we learned even more about the fucked up looting that plagued the Parthenon during the early 19th century. Basically, French and Englishmen would roll up, under the guise of “research” and just take things. The Elgin Marbles? All stolen. There is more of the Parthenon in England and France than in Greece. Fun Fact: Amal Clooney (George Clooney’s Wife and Bourgie Barrister) advised the Greek Government to take the British Government to court to return and restore the Elgin Marbles to Greece. Greece’s answer: Yeah, naw. We po’.
Today was Pride in Athens. We were excited to celebrate Pride abroad. We found the parade and walked along the parade route through the city and ended up at the Pride Party, which featured live music by Shaya, who is like the J.Lo of Greece. It was a delightfully familiar experience. It was like home, with people celebrating their sexual identity and advocating the freedom to express it safely and righteously.
At the time of this writing, the Orlando Massacre has already happened. What we will say now is that we celebrated with an immense amount of privilege and carefree enjoyment - that at the time, we had no idea we possessed. Though Athens was alive with Pride and elsewhere in the world that day, we never, ever would’ve imagined something like the Orlando Massacre could happen. #WeAreOrlando and we don’t have patience for hate. Though we fight hate with love, we must also fight violence with reformed legislation. “Where’s the Bill.”
A Note on “Greek Salad”: There is nothing uniquely “Greek” about “Greek Salad.” In Turkey, you get the same delicious mix of onions, tomatoes, peppers, oil and salt. We thought maybe the difference is that the Greeks use oregano, instead of parsley. But, it prepared that consistently everywhere. We now take to calling it “shepherd’s salad,” instead.
Custom Cocktail
Skino Mastiha, Aged Tsipouro, Lemon, Egg White, Etc.
Noel Bar, Kolokotroni 59B, Psirri
